Anatoly Perminov, chief of Russia's Federal Space Agency, said Wednesday that his agency will hold a special meeting to discuss a potential mission to the asteroid Apophis, according to the Associated Press. Perminov spoke on Golos Rossii radio and said NASA and other foreign space agencies would be invited to participate in the mission once the details are finalized, the AP reported.

"Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the collision without destroying it [the asteroid] and without detonating any nuclear charges," the AP quoted Perminov as saying. "The threat of collision can be averted."

Perminov did not elaborate how the Russian spacecraft would deflect Apophis from its near-Earth course, though he did say nuclear explosions would not be involved. Past studies have weighed using everything from nuclear weapons and solar sails to rocket engines, robotic swarms and old-fashioned paint to protect Earth from space rocks.

Apophis has only an extremely remote chance of slamming into Earth when it swings by on April 13, 2029. The asteroid will fly within 18,300 miles (29,450 km) of Earth -- a record close shave by a space rock -- on that day.

Current odds calculated by NASA give it a 1-in-250,000 chance of hitting Earth. Apophis' second near pass by Earth comes in 2068, when the space rock has a three-in-a-million chance (or about 1-in-333,000) of endangering the planet, NASA scientists have said...

SpaceAholic

What are the odds the Russians goon it up and perturb the orbit so it increases the likelihood of an impact! Given the risks, better to first attempt on a non-Earth crosser, observe, validate the predictive models and refine the approach.

Robert Pearlman

The threat of that happening is likely a selling point for international involvement -- and I do mean selling point, as in funding. Without a NASA, ESA or JAXA buy-in, I would tend to doubt this proposed mission going forward.

cspg

And the Russian Space Agency has done it again! We ought to give them a medal of some sort for "grandiose speeches and announcements."

Fear is a great selling point, when you're desperate to see funding coming your way, but frankly who cares what will happen in 2029 or 2068? Especially with odds like those mentioned above.

capoetc

Back in May 2005, Rusty Schweikart told the US Congress that a mission to place a radio transponder on Apophis should be a high priority.

I believe Schweikart's point is that, while the probability of any one asteroid striking earth is low, the probability of AN asteroid striking earth is quite high -- it has happened many times in the past, and the results could be devastating. He argues that it would be foolish to possess the technology to avert such a disaster and choose not to use it.

Yet Apophis is a poor choice for a deflection demonstration. Recent refinements in estimating its orbit show that Apophis has just a 4-in-1 million chance of striking Earth in 2036. Those are non-existent odds, essentially. But a nudge in the wrong direction, from a failed deflection demo, could send Apophis in 2029 through a gravitational "keyhole" near Earth, with our planet's gravity diverting the asteroid onto a collision course with impact seven years later.

Instead, Russia should follow through on its positive impulse and coordinate a demonstration mission to another NEO, one that has zero chance of encountering the Earth. Rusty Schweickart, chairman of the B612 Foundation and a member of the ASE NEO committee, said Wednesday that "there are a million asteroids out there...find another one."

Philip

Well, Near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis was only discovered in 2004. That's amazing as it's about 300 meters large. Let's hope that the WISE spacecraft will detect more dangerous asteroids during its mission life time.